In the Waking World
by MyLadyScribbler
Summary: Link is rescued by a passing ship at the end of "Link's Awakening." As the ship makes its way back to Hyrule, Link wonders about what happened to him on Koholint Island. Was it really all just a dream, or could there be more to the story?


Somewhat of a retelling of the end of Link's Awakening. Link is rescued by a passing ship after the island disappears, and as he lies recovering in the ship's cabin, he wonders if everything that happened to him on Koholint Island was nothing but a fevered dream. However, the ship's doctor has a few interesting stories to tell, and Link begins to see a few things that look very familiar...

I do not own The Legend of Zelda - the games and all within them are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and the kind people at Nintendo. This is just my own spin on the game and the backstory.

 **xLoZx**

"He's coming around…everyone, step back."

The voice sounded distant, as if from the bottom of a well.

"Thought he'd never wake up," another voice said.

 _Heavy…I feel so heavy._

"Are you still with us, lad?"

 _Wake up…I have to wake up!_

Link's eyes, puffy and sticky with salt water, slowly opened. And then he squeezed them shut as the world swam about in front of him. A wave of nausea threatened to overcome him, and he moaned.

"Slowly now, lad," the first voice said. "You've had a rough time of it."

Link tried again to open his eyes. This time, the world slid into focus.

A silver-haired man in doctor's robes was leaning over him. Behind him stood several more men - sailors, from the looks of their rough canvas clothes, as well as one man in fine clothes who must be their captain. And overhead was a ceiling of planks.

Link realized that he was lying in a berth in a ship's cabin. "W…where…" he began, but his throat was parched.

"Some water, please," the doctor motioned to one of the sailors. One of them poured a cup of water and handed it to the doctor. "Drink up, lad, you're probably dehydrated."

Link sat up in the bunk, took the cup and sipped from it. The water was fresh and cool, and he drank it all down. "Where am I?" he asked.

"This is the Hand of Farore that you're aboard. We picked you up yesterday," the captain said. "You were floating among some wreckage, clinging to a boat mast. It must have been that terrible storm that blew through the night before."

Link looked down at himself. His clothes were stiff with brine and sea debris, and his arms were wrapped in bandages.

"Give us a moment," the doctor said to the sailors.

All of them left, except for the captain. He settled himself down on a chair next to the berth and gave Link an appraising look. "What's your name, young man?"

"Link."

"Of what country are you?"

"Hyrule," Link said.

"That is most fortunate. We are supposed to call at Hyrule within the next day or so," the doctor said.

"Yes. Now tell us, Link of Hyrule, how you ended up bobbing among some flotsam and jetsam in the middle of the sea," the captain said.

"I was returning home. I'd gone overseas, to another kingdom, for training," Link began. "A storm hit my boat, and…there was an island. Koholint Island. And the…"

He started to tell about the Wind Fish and the people of the island, but stopped when he saw the doctor and the captain exchanging long looks.

"Get some more sleep, young man," the captain said. "You must still be a bit delirious."

The two men left the cabin. Link sank back onto his pillow and gazed up at the ceiling.

It really was all a dream, he thought sadly. The Wind Fish, Marin and Tarin, the owl, even Bow-Wow. All of them just a dream. But it had all seemed so real, every moment of it, right up until his last encounter with the Wind Fish.

 _Someday, in the waking world, you may recall the memory of this dream…_

Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw his sword and shield resting upright near the cabin door, and he let out a sigh of relief. It was amazing how the two weapons never seemed to get lost. They should have, in the tossing of his boat during the storm. Maybe there was some kind of homing spell on them, something to ensure that they'd always find their way back to him.

Link spent the rest of the day resting in the cabin, lost in thought. It was late afternoon, almost sunset, by the time he felt well enough to venture out on deck.

He went to the washstand in the corner and used the pitcher and basin to splash some water on his face and hair. Then he put on the spare clothes that had been left for him: a loose-fitting shirt and trousers that had probably come from one of the sailors. The clothes were obviously made for someone larger than Link, but he didn't care. He carefully maneuvered his bandaged arms through the shirt's sleeves before pulling it the rest of the way over his head.

Opening the door, he slowly walked out onto the aft deck, barefooted on wobbly legs.

Most of the ship's crew was over on the fore deck having their supper. The smells of food cooking arose from the galley, and someone was playing a cheerful hornpipe on a flute.

Link sat down on a coil of heavy rope near the ship's railing. He pulled his knees up to his chest and watched the tossing of the sea, now indigo in the fading light.

 _Come, let us wake from this dream, together…_

Approaching footsteps brought Link out of his reverie, as the doctor approached with a bowl of fish chowder and a square of ship's biscuit.

"Thought you might like some sustenance," the doctor said, handing the food to Link.

"Thank you." Link picked up the spoon and took a bite of the chowder, and then another. He realized that he was unexpectedly hungry.

The doctor settled himself down on the steps leading to the quarterdeck and gazed out over the sea, waiting for Link to finish eating.

"Strange things, some of the things you come across in these waters. Magical things, too," the doctor said thoughtfully.

Link finished the last bit of chowder and set the bowl aside. "What do you mean?"

The doctor adjusted himself on the steps so that he was facing Link. "You see, young Link, there is a very old tale of sorts in this part of the world. They say that once upon a time, there was a great king of the seas. A whale, the great king Cetus, though some folk in these parts call him…"

"The Wind Fish?" Link ventured.

"Indeed," the doctor said with a knowing nod. "It's anyone's guess how he came into being, whether he was a disciple of Hylia or one of the great sages, or if he was a god in his own right. His special preserve above the waves was a little island called Koholint. In some of the local languages, that means, the Place of the Divine Song. Others say it means, the Place Beloved by the King." The doctor paused for a moment. "This little island was home to all manner of people and creatures. One of them was a young lady named Marin…they say that she was the manifestation of a sea goddess, one who'd look out for sailors in need."

Link listened, rapt.

"What happened to the island?" he asked.

"Ah, well, no one can say, really. The island, its people, and the Wind Fish, simply returned to the sea and the skies. It's the way of things," the doctor said simply.

"Does anyone know where the story came from?"

"Well, as I said, Link, it's a very old tale. A few hundred years at least, maybe a thousand. It's a favorite story among sailors, and folk who dwell by the sea. Over the generations there have been a few shipwrecked travelers who claim they've encountered Marin and the Wind Fish and Koholint themselves." The doctor shrugged. "Who can say?"

A sailor came up the ladder from the lower deck. "Excuse me, but one of the boys took a nasty tumble down the hold ladder just now. His arm bone wants setting."

"A doctor's work is never done," the doctor said as he got to his feet. "I'll leave you for the moment, young Link."

Link watched as the doctor went down to the next deck. Then he turned his gaze back to the sea.

A pair of dolphins were frolicking in the waves next to the ship, jabbering and chattering.

Link smiled. For some reason they reminded him of the two boys who'd been playing catch with their ball on Koholint Island.

Over on the foredeck, the sailor playing the flute had switched to a different tune.

Link wrinkled his brow. The tune sounded awfully familiar.

Wait a minute.

It was the Wind Fish's ballad!

And then a seagull shrieked, just overhead.

Link watched as the gull came in for a landing on the deck. It looked up at him and cawed cheerfully, flapping its wings.

There was something oddly familiar about that gull too…

"Marin?" Link asked, amazed.

But the gull only cawed again and flew off toward the deepening sunset.

Colorful lights suddenly began to dance in the sky on the horizon.

And was that a whale's call Link just heard?

Link got to his feet and went to the railing, clutching it for support.

Could it be…

It was!

A giant whale could be seen sailing through the sky, silhouetted against the colorful lights. The whale sounded another call, deep and booming.

 _Until we meet again, in some other dream world,_ the Wind Fish's voice said in Link's head.

With that, the Wind Fish vanished in a glittering haze, as the stars emerged one by one.

"Until we meet again," Link said to the night winds.

 **xLoZx**

Reviews welcome!


End file.
